Tearing Down the Walls
by HPloveisreallove
Summary: Roxas and Sora deal with their mother's abandonment in very different ways. They're both going to separate colleges and making new friends along the way. Well Sora is. Roxas is trying. AU college fic, rated M for yaoi, drug use, and mild language. AkuRoku
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again! Yes, I've started another story without finishing my others, orz. But this one... this one I'm very proud of, and I haven't been able to say that about a story for a long time.**

**So deal with no updates on the others for now, mkay?**

**Mkay.**

**Anyway, this is an AU story, as you'll see. It's AkuRoku and I plan on yaoi later in the story, so... you've been warned.**

**Welp, enjoy! I love this story very much, and hope you do too.**

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><p>So what can I say… My name is Roxas, and I'm a nineteen year old college student currently attending Twilight Town Community College. I'm studying art there, much to my father's disappointment, and soon I will be transferring to Radiant Garden University. The only reason I'm not there already is because my grades in high school weren't good enough. So I spent a year in the local Community College, working on my GPA and building up some credits, and after this term I'll be able to transfer.<p>

My twin brother, Sora, is also in college, at Destiny Islands University. He was lucky enough to score a scholarship so he could get out of this town. Not that money is much of an issue, but he was very adamant on working hard to get that scholarship. Our father could easily afford to send us both off to the college of our dreams, being the owner of some multimillion-dollar company. I'm vague on purpose, because I don't know what company. When I was little I didn't understand, and as I got older I stopped caring. Our mother on the other hand… well, who knows what she's doing these days. She left us when we were six . Our father did his best to hide his feelings, burying himself in his job, but I can tell he's still suffering over it. I guess you could say I've moved on.

Sora would disagree, and I suppose he's got a good reason. The only person I've ever been close to is my brother. And our dad I guess, but he's distanced himself from us the same way I've distanced myself from everybody. My theory: you can't get hurt if no one can get close. Classic abandonment anxiety. So I put up walls; ten feet high, two feet thick, and made of an impenetrable metal, with razor-sharp barbed wire along the top. That way if anyone manages to scale my wall, which would be an achievement in itself, they get cut up.

That should teach them to keep the fuck out.

Sora, being practically the opposite of me, has almost developed Dependent Personality Disorder. He relies so heavily on others that it depresses me. I say "almost" though, because I don't see anything unhealthy about his relationships. Sure he grows attached pretty quickly, and once he's attached it's like peeling off super glue, but he can be independent. Sometimes. When he has to be. I mean, the whole reason he even went to DIU was because his best friends were going there too. That, and the scholarship. But he had gotten a scholarship to RGU as well, albeit for a slightly lower amount.

But that's not the point.

My point is: Sora needs relationships to keep him going.

I don't.

I'm happy by myself. Don't misunderstand me, though, I do have friends… of a sort. There are people I can talk to if I start missing Sora too much. People I can go to on weekends to get drunk and party with. My dad disapproves, of course, but he doesn't do anything to stop me. I think he's hoping that someday I'll learn my lesson, whatever lesson that is, but part of me just thinks he doesn't want to bother lecturing me, because he knows he doesn't have much authority. Sora also is unhappy with my situation, telling me I just use these people. I know he's right, but I can't help thinking they know they're being used, and just hang out with me because they pity me. And, being the rich kid, I supply the booze. So it's really a two-way street.

But I told myself, as I drove to the lively campus for the second time that month: just two weeks of school, then two weeks break, and I can finally leave. After this last term, my GPA should be good enough that I can get into RGU. I'd been coming here at least once a month for the past year just to get a feel of the campus. Already I knew it as if I attended it, and I'd even managed to crash a few parties because they thought I was just another student. In fact, this weekend I had been invited to a pre-finals house party, and I had every intention of showing up.

Which is where I was currently headed. Who was I to pass up free booze, when I'm almost always the one to supply it? I parked my car down the road from the house that's the location of the party. I could already hear the music before the house was even in sight. Smiling, I closed the door of my car, taking care to lock it first, and walked down the street towards the music. Getting closer I could also hear people shouting at each other over the music. This should promise to be a fun night. I walked up the few steps that led to the house and stepped inside, being greeted by a few people near the door.

"Roxas!"

I turned my head as I heard my name called out – screamed out, really, in an effort to be heard over the music and everyone else. A guy with dirty blond, mullet-styled hair raced towards me.

"You made it!" He threw himself on me in a hug and I patted his back awkwardly.

"I told you I would, Demyx."

Demyx was the one who invited me to the party. I'd met him the last time I'd came to the university, for an official visit actually, and not just a personal one. After I had filled out some papers and talked to a couple advisors, I hung around campus and started sketching. Sketching is how I usually passed my time, and I sketched everything I could. On that particular day, I'd been sitting in the grass, looking around for a muse. On the other side of the lawn had been a boy playing guitar, and the way the light reflected off said instrument would provide a good challenge for me. After a few hours of sketching, the boy had come over to me and introduced himself, saying he noticed me watching him and was just curious what I was doing. I showed him my sketch and he had nearly exploded in glee, something I had not been expecting. We talked for a while and when I was getting ready to leave Demyx had mentioned his party, and told me to drop by if I was in the neighborhood.

"You said 'maybe'," Demyx pouted. "I didn't know whether to expect you or not, especially since we'd just met."

I scanned the crowded living room and kitchen. "You wouldn't have even noticed if I didn't show up."

"That's not true! I noticed you as soon as you walked in!"

I smirked. "Yeah that's true… were you watching for me or something?"

Demyx shifted awkwardly on his feet. "No… well ok, I heard some people say hi to you when you came in. I've actually been downstairs this whole time, and I just came up for more beer when you happened to show up."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say, Dem. So… you mentioned beer?"

"Yeah we're about to play a game!" He shouted excitedly, linking his arm through mine and leading me to the kitchen. "Wanna join?"

"Sounds great." Drinking games were perfect excuses to get myself smashed.

"Awesome! Come on, you can help me carry down more beer." He pointed out two cases of beer for me to grab, while he grabbed another two. I followed him down the stairs to his basement, which had been turned into a gaming room. At the moment there was a table set up in the middle of the room, with ten red, plastic cups set up in bowling-pin formation on either end. I smiled to myself; I was fantastic at beer pong. My friends thought it was probably the artist in me, somehow that correlated to me being good at judging distances and angles.

I set the cases of beer down where Demyx instructed me to, next to a table where three people were sitting and watching a guy roll a few quick joints. He saw me looking and cast a curious glance at me. "Want one?" He asked. He had an eyepatch over his right eye and a scar down his left cheek. He looked pretty intimidating, but his smiled was friendly.

I smiled and shook my head. "No thanks." I had tried marijuana once, and didn't enjoy it at all. Ever since then I'd just stuck to my alcohol.

Eyepatch-guy shrugged. "Suit yourself, kid." He lifted the joint to his mouth and lit it, taking in a long drag.

"Xig! We've told you to do that outside! There's no ventilation in here."

"Xig" rolled his eyes and stood up. "Sheesh, calm down, Ax-man, I'm leaving."

I grabbed a few cans of beer from one of the cases and took them over to the table. "I'm guessing you want beer in these?" I asked in general, pointing to the cups.

The same annoyed voice that had yelled at "Xig" was now directed at me. "That's generally what you put in them, yes."

I looked around for the source of the voice. A tall, lean guy with fiery red, spiked hair was scowling at me. I raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged. "Not if you're playing with shots…"

His scowl immediately disappeared and he studied me carefully. "Shots?"

I opened a can and took a drink before starting to pour some into the cups. "Sure, you pour a shot of Jack into each cup, mix in some coke until there's enough liquid in the cup, and play like normal. Rules are still the same, you just get messed up faster."

The redhead smirked and cracked open a can to help pour into the cups. "I'm sure. I've never played like that before."

"I don't get to too often, because I'm the best of all my friends at this game. So I get them fucked up pretty quickly then I'm left with a slight buzz."

His smirk intensified. "You don't say…"

"It's not much fun when you're the only one not drunk."

"I'll make sure you get nice and drunk then, how's that sound?"

I stifled a disbelieving scoff before looking up at him. _Is this guy for real?_ "I think I can manage to get drunk on my own, actually."

His smirk faded into a normal smile, and we continued filling up the cups in silence. Once we had gotten beer in all the cups, Demyx came over to figure out teams, a short and skinny boy with blue-gray hair following him.

"Alright, so this game's gonna be me, Axel, Roxas, and Zexion." He looked around at everyone, obviously hoping they would choose teams so he didn't have to do it.

"Well," the redhead answered, "_Roxas_ here thinks he's pretty damn good at this game -"

"Because I am," I interrupted, ignoring how he emphasized my name.

"See? And we all know how I'm the reigning champ -"

"Don't let your ego get ahead of you, Axel," the slate-haired boy interrupted.

"Can't I finish a sentence around here?" The three of us snickered and Axel rolled his eyes. "Right, anyway, my point is Roxy and I -"

"Roxas," I corrected immediately, ignoring Axel's scowl at being interrupted again.

"We should be on separate teams, so we don't have an unfair advantage."

Demyx shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I'll be on Roxas's team, that way height difference doesn't give any advantages either."

Axel smiled, obviously happy about this. "Perfect! Alright, let's get started."

I started to walk over to my end of the table with Demyx, when someone grabbed my arm and stopped me. I turned around to see Axel smirking at me, and just as I was about to pull my arm away in annoyance he bent down to whisper in my ear.

"Good luck," he said softly, his breath tickling my ear.

My stomach suddenly clenched painfully, but not altogether unpleasantly. It kinda felt like it was being tied in a knot. I glared at Axel, at a loss for a response, and joined Demyx on our side of the table. It was clear after a few minutes why Axel had wished me luck, though. Despite being a pretty awesome shot myself, Demyx was dreadful. A few times he'd almost knocked the entire table over as he and Axel both dove to retrieve the ping pong ball, and he hadn't made a single shot yet whereas I'd managed to get rid of four cups already.

Axel seemed as good as he boasted, though. He'd also made four cups, and Zexion had made two. Demyx was a lightweight, as I found out, when it came to beer, so he'd only drank the cups that Zexion had scored and was already buzzed, while I was left with the others and had yet to get anywhere near that state. I tossed my ping pong ball over, ignoring Axel's waving arms that were trying to distract me, and sank it another cup. Pleased with myself, and the disappointed look on Axel's face, I smiled at Demyx.

"You're up."

Demyx smiled back and aimed his shot, wobbling a little due to his intoxicated state, and threw the ball. It bounced on the table, then off, and predictably he and Axel both dove for the ball again. This time, though, as Demyx made his dive he didn't quite clear the table and his hip knocked into the side. I ran forward to steady it, as did Zexion, but we were too late and the table fell to the side, the remaining cups of beer spilling all over the floor. Demyx and Axel were both frozen, looking at the table, their attempts to claim ownership of the ball forgotten.

Then Demyx started giggling wildly. "Ohhh, that's gonna be such a pain to clean up!"

I walked over to help Demyx up off the floor. "Don't worry, I'll help you later."

His answering smile was radiant enough to power the city during a blackout. "Really?"

I shrugged. "Yeah sure. But later. Right now, I wanna forget my name."

Axel clapped me on the back. "Sounds like a plan." He offered me an unopened beer and I shotgunned it, wanting to feel the effects as soon as possible. When I finished I sighed and crumpled the can in my fist while Demyx cheered. I smiled patronizingly at him.

"That was nothing. Once I shotgunned a 40 oz. just because my friend said I couldn't. Good thing I didn't need to come up for air."

Demyx "wow"ed softly while Axel smirked, his eyes glinting for some reason. Zexion had vanished mysteriously after their game had ended, and now the only other people in the basement were the two girls who had been sitting at the table with "Xig."

"Alright, guys," the girl with the short black hair called. "Now that your game's over, how about you entertain us?"

Axel quirked an eyebrow, that seemingly ever-present smirk still on his face. "How would you like me, Xion?"

"Out of my face, for one," she said, not missing a beat and barely acknowledging Axel. I smiled at the girl. I liked her already. She noticed my smile and smiled back at me. "Let's play another game, and get to know each other a little better."

"What'd you have in mind?" The other girl asked. She was blond and looked as if she was prepared to kick anyone's ass at any time.

"Hmm… I've never?"

"Yes! Let's play!" Demyx shouted, taking a seat at the table.

I shrugged and joined him at the table. "I'm in as long as I get to drink."

Axel sat down in the empty seat across from me. "I'll play if Roxy here is playing."

"Roxas," I hissed at him.

He pouted a bit but I didn't relent, so he just muttered, "Fine," and took another drink of his beer.

"I'll start!" Xion called happily, opening her own beer. "I've never… gotten caught sneaking out of the house."

Everyone at the table drank except her. The game proceeded to Demyx, on her left. "I've never… gotten kicked out of a bar."

Axel and the blond girl both drank. It was my turn now. "I've never… gone skinny dipping."

Again Axel and the blond girl were the only ones to drink, then it was the blond's turn. "I've never put someone in the hospital."

"Yet, Larxene," Axel added. She snickered at his comment. No one at the table moved toward their beer, then Axel picked his up and sipped at it. Larxene smirked while I eyed him curiously. "You know who," he said to Larxene, "and it was just for a couple hours." He sat down his beer and thought about his statement. "I've never… questioned my sexuality."

Xion picked up her beer and took a drink. I reached for mine hesitantly. I wasn't quite sure what he meant by "question," but I suppose there had been a brief time when I wasn't too sure. I took small drink of beer and set it back down. Axel watched me the whole time.

The game continued for some time, all of us refreshing our drinks at some point. Axel was now on his sixth, and I was close behind on my fifth. After we'd all been drinking for a while, our shyness had evaporated and we'd started asking more personal questions. One of which resulted in Xion stripping down to her bra and panties because she'd made the statement "I've never played a drinking game where I had to take off my clothes." After that everyone had cheered and encouraged her until she finally gave in and took them off.

Now it was back around to Demyx. "I've never… kissed a boy."

Everyone at the table took a drink, myself included, but I was shocked at his statement. "Never?" I repeated. Ever since I'd first met Demyx I'd thought he was gay. And he was very attractive, so I couldn't imagine no one had ever kissed him.

He shook his head sadly. "Nope."

I could only stare in disbelief. Was he not gay? Or even bi? Or even _curious_, for that matter? "Would you like to change that?" I asked with a smirk. The beer had lowered my inhibitions, sure, but I was still aware of what I was doing.

Demyx smiled, both nervous and excited. "Maybe if I found the right guy to kiss."

"What's your type?"

"I think right now I could go for a cute blond with spiky hair."

That's all I needed and I leaned forward, pulling Demyx closer to me, and kissed his lips. He shivered when I ran my tongue along his bottom lip, asking for entrance, and he gave it to me. My tongue swirled around his mouth and danced with his tongue, eliciting a quiet moan from him. I felt that same clenching feeling in my stomach that I'd felt earlier, though this time it was quieter, less painful. Of course, that could have just been the beer masking it.

Finally Demyx pulled away, panting, and then gave me a warm smile. "You're a really good kisser, Roxas."

I smiled back, thrilled at his compliment. "Thanks, Dem."

Axel looked like he was torn between fascination and wanting to punch something. Larxene seemed to notice his look too, because she was standing up and announcing that she was going to bed. Xion quickly followed behind her, after gathering up her clothes. An awkward silence was left behind them, while Axel stared at the table, apparently lost in thought. I looked over at Demyx, a question on my face, and he just shrugged.

"I guess it's that time. I'm gonna head off to bed as well," he said. "Roxas, were you still wanting to stay in my room?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be up in a bit." Demyx left for his room. I stood up and walked over to the still flipped over table that no one had bothered picking up and set it upright. I picked up the cups that littered the floor, to make it easier to clean in the morning. When I had decided to come to the party, my only objective was to get smashed and hopefully wake up and not need to throw up. Now, though, after kissing Demyx, I had all sorts of other ideas in my mind. That had been a pretty sobering moment, although I still felt dizzy if I stayed still for too long.

"He wasn't lying."

I looked over at the table where Axel was sitting, now watching me rather than staring at the table. To be honest, I'd completely forgotten he was still there. "What?" I asked.

"Dem wasn't lying when he said he'd never kissed a boy."

"I never said he was."

"It was his choice, you know. He's had plenty of guys falling at his feet. But none of them were good enough for him."

I just shrugged, wondering why Axel was telling me this. It made no difference to me why Demyx had chosen not to kiss a guy until tonight.

Axel stood up and headed towards the stairs. He hesitated on the first one, then glanced back at me. "You must be special." He smiled, then headed up the stairs, not expecting a response from me.

I didn't have a response anyway. I was too caught off guard to say anything. Why would he think I was special? No one had ever thought that, and I wasn't too sure I was ready for someone to think that now. I left the basement and made my way to Demyx's room. The living room had emptied out now, and most people had either gone home or were currently crashing on the couches and floor. I walked up the stairs and quickly found a room marked "Demyx."

Pushing the door open, I stepped inside and closed it quietly behind me. Demyx was curled up on the edge of his bed, looking as if he was in danger of falling off. More than half of the bed had been left empty, but I wasn't sure if that meant I was supposed to sleep there or not. I walked over to Demyx and shook him awake softly. He looked at me blearily for a minute, then when he recognized who I was I saw him blush faintly.

"Where did you want me to sleep?" I whispered.

"You can share my bed, I don't mind," he whispered back, shyly.

Remembering Axel's words, I heard warning bells in my head. I ignored them, though, and took off my shirt and crawled into bed next to Demyx. He was only offering me a place to sleep, not his virginity. I did, however, put my arm around him and pull him closer.

He made no attempt to stop me, and actually moved closer on his own, but after a few minutes he spoke up. "R-Roxas?"

"Yeah?" I asked sleepily.

"I um… I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything but uh… I actually like someone else, so I'm not looking for anything from you."

Honestly, I felt relieved. I had no objections to this, but Demyx felt like he needed to explain further. "I only kissed you because… well because I wanted experience before I kissed him. I mean, I've had experience with girls, but not guys. I just didn't know whether it'd be different or not. I guess it's not that different after all."

So this person Demyx liked was a guy, was it? I could only smile, not really knowing how to answer.

"You're not mad, are you?"

Was I mad? Of course not. A little disappointed, maybe, that I wasn't going to get any further with such an attractive guy, but not mad in the slightest. I understood perfectly what it meant to be used. I did it to my friends all the time. "No Dem, I'm not mad." To prove to him I wasn't I pulled him closer and snuggled into him, wanting nothing more than comfort from him.

I heard him sigh in relief. "That's good, I really like you and I was worried I'd ruined our friendship."

I chuckled lightly. "Go to sleep, Dem. You have nothing to worry about."

I stayed awake for a bit longer, though, thinking over what Axel had said, and wondering why Demyx had chosen me, of all people, to practice on. As I felt myself drifting off, I heard his words again, and pictured acid green eyes framed by fiery hair, his trademark smirk on his face.

"_You must be special."_

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><p><strong>Okay, so that wasn't so bad, right? You know the best way you can tell me? A review! Whey!<strong>

**Yeah anyway, hope you liked it. Update coming asap, though no promises on when.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two for you!**

**I wanna thank **_P5hng-Me-A'Wy _**and **_GHR _**for their reviews: thanks for giving a brand new story your attention, guys!**

**And now, before I bore you all, enjoy!**

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><p>I woke up in the morning to find Demyx curled up next to me, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist and his hair tickling my nose as I breathed. I kissed his forehead lightly, not wanting to wake him, and slipped out of his grasp as quietly as I could. I picked up my discarded shirt, lying on the floor, and tiptoed downstairs hoping I might be able to find some coffee. Before I even made it to the kitchen, though, I found my prayers had been answered as I smelled the delicious aroma. Walking into the kitchen, I prepared myself to thank whoever had made it, but the kitchen was empty. I shrugged, and started looking around the cupboards for a coffee mug.<p>

"Try above the dishwasher."

I didn't even need to turn around to know who that was; I could practically _hear_ his smirk. I opened the recommended cupboard and grabbed a mug, then proceeded to fill it with coffee. After I'd taken a sip, and smiled at the thought of the caffeine it would supply me, I turned to the redhead to thank him. My words died in my throat though, at the sight of him smiling at me the way he was; as if Christmas had come early.

"What?"

He shrugged. "You stayed over."

"You thought I'd drive, being as drunk as I was?"

Axel pouted. "No I guess not. I didn't really think about it at all, but for some reason I just wasn't expecting you to stay."

I didn't have a response, so I just shrugged and sat down at the bar next to him.

"Where'd you stay?" He asked.

"With Dem."

An odd look crossed his face as he looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "With him, like…" He trailed off, leaving me to fill in the blanks.

I was pretty sure I knew what he was getting at though, and it angered me. "You want to know if I fucked him?" I asked a bit harsher than I meant to, but I was upset.

He looked a little shocked at the tone of my voice and gave me a noncommittal jerk of his head, like he wanted to drop the subject but couldn't bring find the words to say so.

I was far from letting the subject be dropped, though. "You think I would take advantage of him like that?" Axel blanched at my words but I wasn't done yet. "I don't know what impression you got of me, I know I'm not a very pleasant person, but I don't treat people I care about like they're trash." As I said it, I surprised even myself. People I care about? Did I care about Demyx? I suppose I did, probably because he reminded me so much of Sora. He was just very easy to befriend, and I couldn't deny how my blood boiled at what Axel was accusing me of. I wanted to continue arguing with him, but I didn't think it would make much of a difference. So instead I just stood up abruptly to tell Demyx good bye and to leave.

"Roxas," Axel called pleadingly.

I ignored him and continued my way up to Demyx's room.

"I'm sorry!" He yelled after me, but I didn't stop and he didn't follow.

I pushed open Demyx's door as quietly as I could, but I saw he was already awake and he was looking at me worriedly. "What's all the shouting about?"

"It's nothing, Dem." I shook my head. "I'm gonna leave now, I should probably be home soon."

He pouted so suddenly that it almost looked as if his hair was wilting. "You're leaving already? What happened?"

"It's really nothing," I repeated. "Axel and I just argued a bit."

Demyx's face went from utter disappointment to anger and annoyance so quickly that it was unsettling. "Axel!" He grumbled. "I told him to behave! What'd you argue about?"

I rubbed my neck, a little embarrassed, and said, "He accused me of sleeping with you."

"You mean like… he wanted to know if we had sex?" I nodded my head, unsure and a little nervous at how he was going to take that. "Oh," was all he said though, and he looked down at the blanket with a confused look. Then he looked back up at me with a smile. "That's nothing to worry about, he was probably just being protective! He's my best friend, after all. I'm sure he just wanted to make sure I didn't do anything that I'd regret."

"If he's your best friend, shouldn't he trust your judgment then? I dunno, Dem, I just got annoyed at him accusing me of that, because I don't do that to my friends." By "friends", I meant the people I truly cared about. Like Sora. I would never do anything to hurt him. And I could see Demyx being someone I might end up liking. Spilling my feelings to? Maybe not, but genuinely liking someone other than Sora was a pretty good start.

"You should stay!" He suggested energetically. "You should stay and talk to him about it. Find out what he really meant, instead of yelling."

I smiled at him. His good nature was so contagious, just like Sora. "I'll talk to him, Dem, but I should still be going. I didn't tell my dad I'd be out all night."

"Oh, I didn't know you still lived with your parents."

"Parent," I corrected. "And it's only for another month, until I move here."

"You're moving here?"

"Yeah, I go to TTCC right now, but after this term I'll be transferring to RGU. And I'll be moving here, so I don't have to deal with the commute."

"Then we'll get to hang out all the time!" He yelled excitedly.

"Yeah, so me leaving now isn't really a big deal."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I guess not, if you have to. I'll see you soon then, Roxas!"

I waved to him from the door and left. I was not looking forward to discussing things with Axel, but I had told Dem I would. It was very possible he was just looking out for his friend, and that I'd overreacted, but at the time what he'd said had just really bothered me. And still did, as a matter of fact. When I got to the kitchen, though, he was nowhere around. I figured he must have gone to his room or something, so I shrugged and left to walk down to my car. I wasn't in the mood to go searching through the house for him; I would just talk to him the next time I came by. That was probably a better idea anyway, because then we'd both have some time to cool down.

My thoughts came to a screeching halt as I approached my car and saw that I'd recently received a new hood ornament. Axel was sitting on the hood of my car, apparently waiting for me.

"What are you doing?" I asked incredulously as I neared the car.

"I wanted to explain myself and you weren't giving me a chance."

What was it about this guy that just made me so angry? Just a few minutes ago I'd been ready to accept that I'd overreacted at his comment, and now I wanted so badly to hit him for thinking I would just do whatever he wanted.

"You think sitting on my car is going to make me listen?"

"At least you can't drive off before you hear me out."

_Ohhh, challenge accepted, asshole,_ I thought to myself as I unlocked my door and climbed in, slamming the door behind me. Axel's head turned to watch me, and I glared at him as I put the keys in and started the car. He swallowed visibly as I reached up for the parking brake, but he still didn't move. I released the brake and stepped lightly on the accelerator, causing the car to creep forward a few feet.

Axel gripped as well as he could onto the sides of the car. "Roxas, come on, just let me talk."

I stepped down on the accelerator again, a bit more forcefully, causing the car to lurch just a tiny bit. I had no intention of actually _driving_ with Axel sitting on my car, because that could get me a ticket, but I sure as hell wasn't going to back down to this guy. I dropped the gear into neutral and revved the engine angrily, hoping he would get the point. He didn't move though, he just continued to sit there looking determined. And just a little nervous, too. I was not pleased. I revved the engine again, but when I saw it wasn't bothering him I put the parking brake back on and just slumped down on my steering wheel, effectively laying on the horn and not letting up until he moved.

I hadn't expected him to move so quickly, though, and he must have jumped at the chance of me not looking for a few seconds, because suddenly I heard my passenger door opening and I looked over to my right to see him jumping in.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I yelled.

"I told you, you're not leaving until you listen to me. It really won't take long."

I groaned and hugged my steering wheel. I hadn't felt hungover at all until I'd argued with Axel earlier, and now I felt like shit. I wanted more coffee, and it'd probably be a good idea to get some food in me just in case it got to the point of being sick, so that I didn't end up dry heaving.

"Where can I get something to eat?"

"What?" He asked, clearly not expecting that question.

"Breakfast," I emphasized. "Food. Where?"

"There's a Denny's just down the road. Is that alright?"

"I don't fucking care I just want coffee and some bacon."

"Turn around and take that right," he said, gesturing to the appropriate street. His sudden happiness reminded me so much of a puppy that if he had ears and a tail I swear his ears would have suddenly perked up and his tail would be wagging. "So, earlier -"

"No."

"… No?"

"I don't wanna talk until I get more coffee. You're already giving me a headache."

Axel sulked the rest of the way, which wasn't very far as Denny's really was just down the road. I parked the car and as Axel got out I was very tempted to just drive off and leave him there, but the pull of food and coffee finally won. I got out and followed Axel inside the small restaurant. I imagined Axel with puppy ears again, twitching at all the sounds as he turned his head to look at all the people they passed by on the way to their table. I shook my head, smiling to myself.

"Anything you want, Roxy baby. I'm paying."

I didn't even have the energy to correct him about my name. I barely even noticed it, really, as I looked through my menu and my mind was consumed with food. _Oh, you're paying, are you?_ I quickly located the most expensive breakfast item on the menu that included bacon.

"Would you like some coffee?" A waitress asked us.

"Yes please," I said, sliding my mug over to her without looking up from my menu. She filled it with the steaming black liquid and I took a gulp as soon as she'd finished, sighing as the scalding fluid ran down my throat, burning my tongue just a bit.

In no time another waitress had come over to us to take our order. Axel looked at me curiously as I ordered mine, and then added an extra side of bacon. I avoided his gaze and acted as if it was the most common thing in the world, and he didn't question it. We sat in silence waiting for our food, but to me this was a positive thing. With the way Axel always managed to say something that set me off, I counted this as a blessing and just sipped at my coffee with my eyes closed. When our food arrived after a few minutes, I immediately devoured four pieces of thick-cut, juicy bacon before eyeing the rest of my plate. I wasn't very hungry, and probably shouldn't have ordered so much food, but Axel had been asking for it when he said he'd pay. Going at the rest of my food much slower, I looked up at Axel as a sign that he could talk now.

He seemed to be waiting for such a cue, because as I looked up at him he immediately set down his fork. "Alright, so first of all I wanna apologize."

"You already did."

"Yeah, well, not as well as I would like. I yelled it at you as you were going up the stairs. So, I'm sorry, Roxy -"

"Roxas," I corrected around a mouthful of egg.

"… Roxas. I didn't in any way mean to offend you. Demyx is… well, naïve is the best word, I guess. People can easily take advantage of him, and I'm sorry for assuming you did. I don't know you very well… well I guess I don't know you at all, really, but I'm protective of Dem. He's like a little brother to me."

I nodded, swallowing my bite of toast. "Yeah, Dem said as much."

"Did he?"

"Just before I left, he said you were probably just being protective." I stabbed a sausage viciously with my fork.

"Do you just not like me?"

I froze as I was about to take a bite of my sausage, my mouth partially open and my fork hovering near it. "What?"

"It's just that you seem annoyed every time I try to talk to you. I even give you headaches."

I put my sausage down, ignoring the imaginary puppy ears that would undoubtedly be flat against his head in disappointment right now. I sighed, not really knowing what to say. "It's not really you, Axel. I don't like anyone."

"You like Dem," he interjected quickly.

"Dem's… different. He's so carefree and friendly it's almost impossible _not _to like him. He reminds me of my brother."

"Your brother?"

I nodded. "I have a twin brother. He goes to Destiny Islands University. I only see him over the holidays, but I talk to him everyday, whether by text or phone call, or IM or whatever. But it's not the same, and I miss him. He's my best friend. He's my only friend."

Axel looked confused. "What do you mean, your only friend?"

"I don't have friends. Not people you would call my friends, anyway. I have people I hang out with, and party with, but I know I'm really just using them for an excuse to get out of my house." I had no idea why I was telling this clown all of this, but I thought that if Demyx was so close to him that he must have some redeeming qualities. Maybe they were hidden so far down that you had to take the time to get to know him before you noticed them. So, I guess that's what I was doing, though I'd never given anyone else such a chance before.

"What's wrong with you?"

I felt my temper start to rise and I had to bite back a retort. I could tell from the seriousness of his face and the concern in his tone that it was just a badly phrased question, and that he didn't mean any harm by it. I shrugged though, unwilling to answer such a question just yet. "It's a long story that I'd rather not get into right now."

He nodded and went back to his pancakes. "Fair enough."

I was a little surprised at him taking it so well, but he must be learning that I wasn't going to open up so quickly.

"So now what?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What are we gonna do now? Since we're done eating."

I pushed my empty plate forward and glared at him. "I'm going home. I'll drop you off on my way."

"Aw come on, and here I thought we were bonding."

"Nope."

He frowned, obviously trying to think of something to say to extend their conversation. "So where's 'home'?"

"I live in Twilight Town."

He looked surprised. "What, really? What were you doing at Dem's party then? I thought he said he met you on campus."

"He did. I go to TTCC, but I'll be transferring to RGU after this term is over."

"So you'll be moving here then?"

"That's the plan."

"Do you have a place yet?"

I waved at the waitress for our check. "Not yet. I still need to look. I was gonna check out Thirteenth District when I came back over."

"Thirteenth?" He asked, taken aback.

"Yeah, why? Something wrong with that district?"

"No, it's a beautiful place, if you're rich."

I just looked at him blankly. "Yeah… and?"

He looked at me curiously. "If you're gonna rent a place over there, it's gonna be extremely expensive."

"I was hoping to buy one, actually."

"You want to buy a house… in Thirteenth District…" He repeated, shaking his head.

I rolled my eyes, not understanding the problem. "Yes, what's the big deal?"

"Come on," he said, standing up and throwing down some cash to pay the check. "I'll show you Thirteenth District. I don't think you know exactly what you're getting into."

I followed him out to my car, torn between wanting to be rid of him and my curiosity of what he was going to show me about this district. My curiosity ending up winning, though, because I thought it would probably be a good idea to know where I might be living. He directed me there, his directions being our only conversation.

"And take a right here… and now you're in Thirteenth. See what I was talking about?"

I looked around at the houses, and sure enough they were all pretty ritzy. Nothing compared to my house in Twilight Town, but I wasn't exactly planning on using daddy's money to buy me a mansion. These houses looked like they'd be just fine, and besides, dad said he would pay the down payment as long as I got a job to pay the mortgage.

"These are alright," I answered him. "A little small, but it'll be just me so I don't think it'll be a problem."

He looked flabbergasted. " 'A little small'?" He repeated. "What are you, the son of a millionaire?"

"Yeah," I answered simply. Was this what had been his problem all along? He didn't expect me to have money?

He blinked in surprise. "Oh…" He looked away, a little embarrassed. Then he smirked at me for the first time since we'd left their house. "So… on top of being surly, you're also spoiled?"

I rolled my eyes. "No I'm not. Having money and being spoiled are different. Being spoiled implies that I expect to get things handed to me, and I throw a tantrum when things don't go my way. I don't do that at all. Yeah, money's nice. It buys me the shit I want, like alcohol and this car. But I'm not some spoiled brat." I had no idea how Axel managed to find every one of my nerves and twist them into knots, but he was sure good at it. It was as if he couldn't open his mouth without me yelling at him.

"Sorry," he said as soon as I was done. He looked out the window, obviously upset. "I didn't mean anything like that, I was just teasing."

I stopped at the end of the road and sighed. I think the reason I was overreacting so much was because I just wasn't used to people teasing me, like Axel said he was doing. Everyone I hung out with knew not to fuck with me, so they stayed clear. Since Axel didn't know me, he was probably just acting the way that came natural to him, and I was just being an ass. Which normally I wouldn't care about, but for some reason I did. It was probably because he was such good friends with Demyx.

I sighed again and gripped the steering wheel in an effort to ask my question as calmly as possible. "So now what?" I echoed Axel's question from earlier.

"Take a left, that'll take you back the way we came," he answered monotonously. It seemed unnatural that a smirk wasn't present on his face.

"Will that take me to a mall?"

He looked over at me curiously. "You wanna go to the mall?"

"I wanna change my clothes if I'm gonna be in town for much longer," I said through gritted teeth. It just didn't feel _right_ to be this nice.

"You decided to stay?" He asked, grinning gleefully. There were those damn ears again.

I shook my head and had to hide my own smirk as my stomach did that weird clenching thing again. "Only if we go somewhere where I can buy something else to wear."

"Okay, go left like I said, but you'll take a right after that."

I followed his directions to the mall. We still didn't really talk, but the mall wasn't too far away so it wasn't very awkward. I parked the car and got out, taking care to lock the doors. Axel looked like he was happy enough to skip up to the doors, and I don't think his tail could have been wagging any more frantically. _If this keeps up I'll have to walk him on a leash,_ I thought, imagining him with a collar. My stomach clenched yet again, much more painfully this time, but I ignored it and just snickered at my thought.

"What's so funny?"

"Just imagining walking you on a leash."

Axel missed the step up to the curb and stumbled, nearly falling over. "Oh really? Did I have a collar as well?"

I nodded, catching his teasing tone this time. I was getting more used to him, just like Demyx said I would. "A black one with spikes."

"Me likey," he smirked. His eyes glinted mischievously as he threw his arm around my shoulders and leaned close to whisper in my ear. "Were you imagining me in some kind of sexy getup as well?"

I pulled away from his grasp and punched him in the shoulder, a little too painfully to be _purely_ playful. "Pervert," I muttered.

He must have seen my grin, though, because he didn't seem too phased by my words or actions. "Come on, Roxy – er, Roxas," he corrected himself before I could interrupt, "I think I know just the store for you."

I didn't bother telling him that I'd been to this mall countless times, since Twilight Town didn't have a mall, but I followed him nonetheless. I was curious as to which store he thought would be the one I'd choose. Surprisingly, he led me straight to the one that practically resembled my entire closet. I had to admit, I was slightly impressed.

I looked up at him and saw he was wearing a proud smirk. Rolling my eyes, I grumbled, "Good guess," then I walked into the store and began browsing their selection. I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans that I already owned, in fact I already owned two pairs, but they were my favorite jeans I had. I joined Axel over at the shirts and immediately found a white and black checkered tank that I liked. After that I grabbed a black belt with silver studs to replace my own because it had several of the studs missing. I paid for my clothes and then headed towards the fitting rooms to change. With my new clothes on, I dumped my other ones into my shopping bag and left.

"I feel kinda bad for sticking around." Axel looked at me with a question so explained. "I told Dem I was going home. D'you think we should go get him?"

Axel checked his phone. "Nah, he's at work. We can stop by and say hi."

"Where does he work?"

Axel pointed up ahead, at my favorite frozen yogurt place. Sure enough, even from this distance there was no mistaking that hair. As often as I came to this mall, though, I couldn't ever remember seeing him there before.

"He just started last week," Axel said. "He's really excited about it, I guess he loves this place."

Well, that explained why I'd never seen him. We walked into the shop and I headed towards the machines to get some of my favorite flavor. Grabbing a small dish, I filled it up with the light blue piece of heaven and walked up to the counter that Demyx was cashiering at. After the people in front of me paid and moved out of the way, I stepped up and set my dish on the scale.

"That'll be $4.39," Demyx said, not looking up from the register.

I handed over some cash, and when he held out his hand for it he finally looked up.

"Roxas!" He shouted cheerfully. "I thought you were going home!"

I shrugged. "Axel convinced me to stay." He hadn't done anything to convince me to stay, but it still made him grin happily. I couldn't help but smile a little.

Demyx nodded his head with a satisfied smile. "I told you he was a good guy when you got to know him."

I glanced at Axel and saw he was watching me, so I looked him up and down carefully, my head tilted slightly to the side. "I guess he's not _too _bad…"

Axel slumped his shoulders, pretending to be upset. "Gee, thanks, _babe_."

I know he just added that last bit to try to get at me, but I just smiled and winked at him. "Anytime, _dear._"

Axel suddenly had a coughing fit and had to leave the shop for a moment. Demyx snickered. "So, you did some shopping?"

"Yeah, I wanted to change my clothes if I was going to be here for much longer."

"You get those from the same store you got your shirt from? The one you were wearing last night?"

I looked at Dem curiously. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Axel rejoined us, clearing his throat a little. Dem smiled before answering my question. "I forgot to mention it last night, but Axel has the same green shirt, and that's where he got it from so…" Demyx trailed off as I turned my head sharply to look at Axel.

So _that's_ why he'd guessed that store! He'd recognized my shirt from last night because he owned the same one. I poked him in the ribs. "Some guess," I said, glaring at him. "You knew I already shopped there."

Axel blushed slightly, or maybe he was still a little flushed from coughing. "It was still just a guess…"

"And here you had me thinking you had analyzed me or some shit and actually _knew_ which store I'd be most likely to shop at."

"If it means anything, I think the shirt looks much better on you."

"It doesn't mean anything, because that's obvious."

Demyx had to cover his mouth to stifle his giggle. Axel rounded on him. "What's so funny?" He demanded.

"You two," Demyx said in between laughs. "The way you're bickering like a couple, it's just so funny!"

I turned to look at Axel at the same time he turned to look at me, and I saw his cheeks darken as I felt a blush creep along my own cheeks. I turned back to Dem and Axel turned the other direction. "Thanks for that pleasant thought. See ya later, Dem." He waved as I left the shop, Axel following closely behind me. I took a bite of my frozen yogurt, which I had pretty much forgotten about while I talked to Demyx, and savored the salty-sweet flavor.

"What flavor did you get?" Axel asked.

"Sea-salt. It's my favorite. I used to get the popsicles when I was younger, and they've had it at that yogurt place ever since it was put in."

Axel hummed thoughtfully. "I've never tried it."

I stopped in my tracks, throwing out my arm to catch Axel's wrist and stop him too. He looked back at me with an eyebrow raised.

"You've… _never _tried it?"

He shrugged. "No. Is it really that big of a deal?"

I held the dish up to him. "Try it." He just shook his head and started to turn back around, but I dug out a spoonful and held it in his face. "Try it," I repeated, this time with more force. Axel looked at me strangely, but I held my ground, determined that he try my favorite flavor.

He complied, and took the spoon in his mouth. I watched his face for a reaction, wondering what he'd think. After a few seconds I saw him swallow and then he nodded. "Not bad. Actually, that's pretty good."

I took a bite of it. "Did you wanna go back and get some?"

"Nah, I think I'll just steal some of yours." He grabbed my wrist as I was bringing another bite up to my mouth and directed it into his own. I pulled my arm back, but too late, and he ended up getting the bite.

"Hey!" I said indignantly, scooping up another bite and facing away from him to eat it.

"You know…" He draped an arm around my shoulders again. "Since that spoon's been in your mouth, then mine, then yours again, it's kinda like we've kissed." He smirked. "We should just kiss for the hell of it, Roxy."

I snorted, unable to contain my laughter. Since I didn't have a hand free to hit him as I would have liked, I chose instead to elbow his side. Still laughing, I noticed how my stomach had clenched again at his words.

I suddenly remembered feeling the same thing when I'd kissed Demyx the night before. With everything that had happened afterward, I'd just completely forgotten. In the moment, though, I'd recognized it for what it was, and only now did I finally make the connection. It was attraction. That twisted, nervous feeling you get when you're very attracted to someone. Of course I'd been attracted to Dem when I was making out with him, but was I really attracted to Axel?

It would explain a lot, I suppose. Like if I was attracted to him, I obviously wouldn't want him to get the wrong impression of me, which would explain why I was always jumping down his throat to correct him. But was it even possible to be attracted to someone and not know it? I recalled Demyx's words from earlier, _"You're bickering like a couple,"_ and I found myself wondering what it would be like to kiss Axel.

My laughter died almost immediately and I felt my cheeks heat up at the thought. I sighed. There was no denying it: I was attracted to Axel. I looked him over, not caring that he was stealing more of my ice cream while I was preoccupied, and found that I had good reason to be attracted to him. His body was lean, almost too skinny but not quite, and I could tell he was strong despite lacking noticeable biceps. I let my imagination roam free for a minute, and pictured being pinned up against a wall by him, imagining how it would feel to have his body pressed up against mine…

I suddenly felt lightheaded and reached out to grip Axel's shoulder tightly. I saw him turn around and give me a concerned look before my eyelids fluttered closed.

"Roxas? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think I need to sit down." My head was spinning a little and it was difficult to think straight.

He led me over to a bench and sat me down carefully. When I felt his hand on my forehead my eyes shot open.

"You feel a little feverish, maybe you should come back to my place and rest for a bit."

I knew I wasn't feverish, that it was just my flustered state making me warm, but I couldn't find the words to say anything as I stared into his emerald eyes, full of nothing but concern. "I'm… I'm fine," I stammered. I gulped and took a deep breath. "Really, I am. It was just a dizzy spell or something. Can you, uh… get me some water?"

Axel nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I'll be right back, Roxy, just wait here." And he jumped up and left to find a vending machine.

As soon as he was around the corner I pulled out my cell phone, found my brother's name, and sent him a text.

_Sora, 911_

I waited impatiently for a response, hoping he would reply before Axel came back. Thankfully, he wasn't busy and I got a text back almost immediately.

_Roxy what's up? Are you ok? Is it dad?_

I bit my tongue, not really sure what to say.

_I think I like someone… and I just nearly fainted when I came to that conclusion_

I had just hit send when Axel sat back down next to me, holding out a bottle of water. I smiled graciously. "Thanks."

He waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. You sure you're okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's nothing. It's happened a couple times before." Lie. I would not have just texted Sora "911" if anything like this had ever happened before. Speaking of which, my phone started to vibrate on the bench next to me with a new text from him. I put the cap back on the bottle of water and picked up my phone.

"Your brother?" Axel asked.

_OMG ROXY THAT'S AWESOME! About you liking someone, not about you almost fainting. Sorry about you almost fainting…_

I nodded. "He's just saying hello, asking how my day's going."

"Are you going to tell him what happened?"

"Nah, I told you it's nothing. There's no reason to get him worried." Another lie, what I meant was: there's no reason for _you _to worry. I held the water to my forehead, hoping to cool my face down a little, as I typed my reply one-handed. After I hit send I looked back up at Axel, only to see he still looked incredibly concerned. I picked my yogurt back up and shoved a spoonful into his mouth with a smile. "Will you please stop looking at me like I nearly died? _I'm okay._"

Axel swallowed the bite and narrowed his eyes. He reached his hand up and flicked my forehead. "Don't _ever_ scare me like that again."

"What were you scared of? I was the one who nearly -" I cut off my sentence. The end of that was going to be: passed out on the floor, but I felt like that would have ruined my "it's nothing" story. "… wore frozen yogurt," I finished lamely.

Axel smirked. "Yeah, that would have been terrifying. You would have ruined your new shirt. We'd have to take it off, and clean any yogurt off you," I shivered as I imagined him licking the yogurt off me, "then you would have had to buy another one," he finished.

"Exactly, but… crisis averted."

"For now," he added, his smirk turning into a grin.

I felt my face start to heat up again and held the water bottle to my forehead again, hoping my face was mostly obscured by it.

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><p><strong>You'll come to find that I like putting poor Roxy in difficult situations B|<strong>

**Well, so there's chapter two! Did you like it? No? I wanna hear your thoughts! c:**

**Thanks for reading! Chapter three is on the way**


	3. Chapter 3

**A quick thanks to my reviewers before we get on with the show! Er, story, rather...**

**NeverForgetVIIIXIII **

**I-Want-To-Rent-Ikuto-Kun XD**

**P5hng-Me-A'Wy**

**VocaloidsRuleMusic **

**Diabolus Kara**

**and a lovely Anon**

**Thank you all for making me smile with your reviews, and wanting to get this chapter up as quick as I could.**

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><p>I was walking home from taking my last final, savoring my freedom. Now I just had to wait around until my house was ready for me to move in, which would be in about two weeks. For now, though, I just planned on hanging out at home and taking it easy. I checked my phone, looking to see if Sora had replied yet. He wasn't going to make it over for Christmas; he said it was because plane tickets were so expensive but that couldn't be the case since dad could easily afford it. I figured he must have a good reason to stay, though, and just didn't want to make it seem like he was ditching us.<p>

As I continued scrolling through my messages, I came across our conversation from my trip to the mall. That had been almost two weeks ago. All this time and I hadn't heard from Dem or Axel. That wasn't too surprising, though, considering neither of them had given me their number and I hadn't given them mine. It was probably a good thing - this separation. It gave me time to think, and the only thing I thought about was Axel. I was trying to decide my feelings for him, whether they were true or not. I finally decided they weren't; whatever I'd been feeling, I didn't feel that way now. After a week and a half of not seeing or talking to him, I found that I didn't miss him. If you liked someone, wouldn't you miss them after a while?

My thoughts were interrupted as something collided into the side of me, knocking me to the ground. I cursed when I hit the pavement, grazing my arm pretty badly by the feel of it, and I looked around to see what the fuck had run into me.

A brunette was sitting on my lap, straddling me with a huge grin on his face. I launched myself at him, tackling him to the ground.

"Sora!" I shouted happily. "I thought you weren't coming!"

"Merry Christmas!" He giggled. "I just got in, Dad said you were finishing your finals and I thought I'd come surprise you!"

"Best surprise ever!"

He laughed and helped me up off the ground. "I saw you walking and I couldn't help myself. Oh, you're bleeding!" He exclaimed suddenly, grabbing the arm I'd grazed. "Roxy, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

I took a look at my forearm and saw it was starting to bleed pretty badly, but it didn't hurt so figured it was probably worse than it looked. "Sora stop panicking, I know you didn't _mean _to. I'll clean it up when I get home." I saw he still looked worried so I smiled at him. "It doesn't even hurt. Look," to emphasize my point I stuck my finger to it and traced it back and forth. I hadn't been sure that would work, but it actually didn't hurt at all. "See? No big deal."

Sora frowned. "Well, fine. Be careful you don't get it on your clothes though, there's a lot and it'll stain!"

"Yes, dear," I teased. I took care not to say "mom" which would have only been a natural response, but Sora didn't take jokes like that very lightly.

Sora rolled his eyes but quickly moved to another topic. "So come on, tell me all about him!"

I paused as we waited at a crosswalk for the light to change. "Who?"

"Axel! You haven't talked about him in days, and you didn't really tell me much to begin with."

I shrugged. "There's nothing to tell. I decided I didn't like him." The light turned green and I stepped out to cross the street.

Sora had hesitated on the sidewalk. "You… wait, _what?_" He ran to catch up to me. "What do you mean you 'decided' you didn't like him?"

"I don't like him," I repeated simply. "I think about him now and… I feel nothing. Maybe I was just attracted to him. I haven't even _thought _about him for the last few days, Sora."

Sora looked incredibly disappointed. "Oh. Well… alright I guess." He sighed. "What are we going to talk about now?"

I laughed. "Other things? Did you think I was gonna gush about him the entire time you were here like a preteen girl?" I shook my head, smiling. Sora knew me far better than that. "How long are you staying for anyway?"

He shrugged. "Till New Year's, at least. I haven't bought a ticket back yet. I guess it depends on when I get bored of you."

"So you're staying forever then?"

Sora scoffed. "Please, I'll probably get sick of you later tonight. I just have this feeling you're going to annoy the shit out of me."

I smirked and threw my arm around his shoulders. "I missed you, bro."

He wound his arm around my waist and leaned his head against mine. "I missed you too.

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><p>Christmas came and went, our dad only coming home for a few hours to have dinner with us before rushing back off to work, and just two days later I was driving Sora up to Radiant Garden to show off the house I would be moving into on January first. On the way Sora told me all about the new friends he'd made, and how he, Riku, and Kairi still hung out all the time. I nodded along as he talked, not questioning anything and not having much to add myself. I drove to Thirteenth District and pulled the car up outside my soon-to-be house.<p>

Sora's jaw dropped noticeably. "This is what dad's buying you?"

"He paid for the down-payment, I'll get a job soon to start paying the mortgage."

"This is awesome, Roxas, almost as big as home."

"Sora it's half the size of home."

"Well, still, you'll be on your own so you don't need a great big house. How many bedrooms is it?"

"Four, and a couple spare rooms that could be more bedrooms or whatever."

Sora whistled quietly. "Can we look around the house and peek inside?"

"Yeah of course, it's my house, dude, no one's gonna tell us to leave." We got out of the car and walked around the house, Sora looking in through the windows that weren't covered.

"Man, this place looks great! I'm pretty jealous, Roxy."

"Dad would buy you a house too, if you wanted."

"Nah, I don't want something as permanent as a house. I wanna travel too much, I don't wanna have to pay for a house _and _wherever I'm temporarily staying."

We went back to the car and I pulled out, thinking about where we could get lunch before we headed home. I was about to ask Sora what he wanted when he spoke up first.

"So… I've been avoiding it because I didn't know how you'd react… but can I meet your new friends?" He asked hurriedly.

"You mean Dem and Axel?"

Sora gave me a pointed look. "Have you made any other friends?"

I chuckled. "Good point. Alright, we'll swing by the mall and see if Dem's at work. I need to pick up a new pair of shoes anyway." So I drove us to the mall. I hadn't really planned on seeing either of my new - _friends_ today, and I guess they really were my friends. Well, Dem was anyway. Axel was still a giant question mark.

We walked into the mall and I headed straight for the frozen yogurt shop. Now that I was here, I was seriously craving my favorite salty-sweet flavor. I stepped in and saw Dem working the register again, then grabbed a dish and filled it up. Sora grabbed a dish as well and mixed a bunch of flavors together. He always did that, and I had no idea how it could taste good at all. We walked up to the counter to pay just as Dem was finishing up with his current customer.

When he saw me his face broke into a wide smile instantly. "Roxas!" He yelped, leaning over the counter to pull me into a hug. Sora looked surprised and amused, probably because I rarely let anyone but him hug me like this. Demyx pulled away, still smiling. "I was wondering when I was going to see you again! I tried to call you just a couple days after my party but I realized I didn't have your number."

"No, sorry Dem, I forgot about giving it to you, and I didn't get yours to call you either." Demyx waved it off, still smiling, and his gaze shifted to Sora. "This is my brother, Sora. He's visiting for the holidays."

"Hi!" Demyx greeted him happily, holding out his hand to shake Sora's. "It's great to meet you!"

Sora smiled back and shook his hand enthusiastically. "Yeah, you too!"

Demyx rang up our frozen treats, eyeing mine in particular. "You know, you've gotten Axel seriously hooked on that stuff. I swear he's in here almost every day getting some."

I laughed. "Speaking of which, is he home?"

"No, he's actually wandering around here somewhere. You caught me just in time, I get off in fifteen minutes and he came to pick me up to get some lunch."

I nodded. "Alright well I'll keep an eye out for him. I'm gonna go take a look at shoes. Here's my number so you can get in touch if you want." We exchanged numbers and Sora and I left the shop, heading towards my favorite clothing store so I could look at shoes. Just as I had entered the shop my phone vibrated. I looked down at it and saw I already had a new text from Demyx.

_I totally forgot to ask, wanna come to lunch with us when I get off?_

I asked Sora if he minded and he shook his head, saying he would love to. I sent Dem a text back saying we'd go, then wandered over to the shoes. It didn't take me more than a couple minutes; my old black Vans were badly run down, so I just needed a new pair. Tucking the box under my arm, I joined Sora where he was browsing through the shirts and started looking.

"I think _this _is more your style…"

That stupid, annoying yet pleasing feeling happened in my stomach again, and I turned around to see Axel smirking at me. But it was the thing in his hand that drew my attention. He was holding a very lacy, very see-through, _very skimpy,_ black lingerie piece that he'd obviously gotten from the women's section of the store.

"Hey, Roxy, what d'you think of -" Sora wandered over, holding a long-sleeved red shirt up to him, just in time to see me punch Axel's shoulder. His eyes widened in surprise, and he hurried over to me. "What's going on?"

Axel grinned and hung the lingerie up randomly amongst the shirts. "Who's this cutie?" He asked me.

I ignored the blush that erupted over Sora's face and introduced them. "Sora, this is Axel. Axel… my twin brother, Sora. He's visiting for the holidays."

Axel, still grinning, threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. "So _you're _the one who's been keeping my Roxy-poo from me."

I wanted to smack my forehead with my hand, but I felt like that would've been too cartoon-ish. Instead I decided to elbow Axel in the ribs and I ducked underneath his arm as he flinched. I walked up to the cash register to purchase my shoes. _It's entirely possible I'm just _physically_ attracted to him, _I told myself, trying to explain why it suddenly felt twenty degrees warmer in the store. And it was possible, certainly. Actually, it was probably the case. I'd spent a few mornings thinking about things we could do to each other as I took care of my morning hard-ons. I hadn't been lying to Sora when I told him that Axel hadn't even crossed my mind recently, because he really hadn't, but seeing him again was stirring up all these bothersome feelings.

We left the store and headed back towards Dem's shop to wait for him to get off work. Sora and I sat down at a table, still finishing our yogurt from earlier, while Axel went to get some himself.

"So?" I asked Sora quietly.

"Too early to tell, but Demyx seems nice," he whispered back.

I nodded. "He reminds me a lot of you, that's probably why I found it so easy to like him."

Sora just nodded as Axel rejoined us. He had a dish full of the sea-salt yogurt as well.

"Aren't we going to lunch in a few minutes?" I asked him.

He looked at me, a little surprised. "I am, yeah, with Dem…"

"Demyx invited us along," I explained.

"Oh," he said, taking a bite of his yogurt. "Nice of him to let me know."

"We don't have to come with." I tossed my dish in the garbage can nearby.

Axel hastily swallowed his bite. "No, I didn't mean it like that! Of course you can come with. The more the merrier, and all that."

I could have sworn I saw a smirk cross Sora's face, but if one did he did a really good job at hiding it.

"I'm free!" Demyx called, coming up to them. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yep," Axel answered. "Where are we going?"

Demyx shrugged. "I don't mind, what sounds good?"

That went on for a little while, with Dem and Axel discussing what their options were. Sora piped up every now and then too, when a question was directed towards him. I just remained quiet, I really didn't care where we ate. There was one place I'd been wanting to go for a while though…

"Let's go to the beach," I suggested.

Dem and Axel paused in their bickering and turned to look at me. Demyx broke into a smile and clapped his hands. "That's perfect! We'll get some sandwiches and have a picnic!"

Axel smirked. "Fine with me."

We left the shop and headed towards the parking lot. Sora lagged behind and tugged the sleeve of my coat to make me slow down too.

"Are you going to that spot?" He asked me.

I looked down at my shoes as I answered. "I was thinking about it. Do you not want to?"

Sora looked away from me and stayed silent for a moment, then he turned back to me with a light smile. "Nah, it'll be fine. It's a great spot."

I watched his face carefully, looking for anything that might betray his true feelings, but he seemed okay with where we were going. As we stepped outside I called to the others.

"Do you guys mind if I drive? I know this really great spot, it's a little hard to find so there's hardly ever anyone there."

"I don't mind," Demyx said. "I've never seen your car, Roxas!"

No one else objected so they followed me to my car. I unlocked it and climbed into the driver seat, wondering how they were going to settle who got to ride up front. Demyx climbed into the backseat without complaint, admiring the leather seats and the nice interior. Sora looked quickly at me and then followed Demyx into the backseat, and again I thought I saw a smirk cross his face, but before I could get a closer look he was already in conversation with Demyx. Axel flipped the passenger seat back and sat down, pushing the seat back a little to accommodate his longer legs. Before I let myself admire him too much, I started the car and backed out of the lot.

The trip to the beach wasn't very eventful. Demyx and Sora were talking enthusiastically without pause, while Axel and I barely said a word to each other. He kept fiddling with my stereo, jumping from one radio station to the next. It seemed as if he wasn't content with any one station, changing rapidly from rock to country, then pop, then an oldies station…

I tried to ignore it but eventually I couldn't take the constant interruption. I reached over and opened the glove box suddenly, the lid falling down into Axel's lap. He looked at me curiously as I reached inside, glancing back and forth from the road to the glove box as I pulled out my iPod and cord.

"Here," I tossed my iPod into his lap and closed the glove box. "Just put it on shuffle or something if you can't find anything on the radio."

I heard the click of my iPod unlocking and he started looking through my iPod. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Dem says I have 'song ADD.' I just get bored with the same music."

I nodded. "I get it. I barely listen to the radio anyway, that's what my iPod's for."

He smiled as he plugged my iPod into the stereo and selected my most used playlist. "You've got some good music. Lots of variety."

I rolled my eyes. He was making small talk. I really _hated _small talk. "Yeah, I like good lyrics. I don't really care what type of music it is."

He didn't have anything to add to that and he just let the music play to cover our silence, while Dem and Sora continued to talk nonstop in the back. After nearly an hour we were getting close to the beach, so I pulled into a nearby Subway so we could pick up some sandwiches. As we neared the beach, I have to admit I was getting a little nervous. It had been years since I'd been to this particular spot. I turned down a small road that was nearly overrun with grass and weeds, but there were still faint tire tracks that indicated this was a seldom travelled road. I looked in the rearview mirror to see Sora's face, but it was turned to look out the window, him and Demyx finally having stopped talking. I sighed, wondering if this was a mistake. I hoped Sora wouldn't be too upset, but I missed this place. Axel looked over at me curiously but I didn't turn to look at him.

Finally the road ended in a small parking lot that was in a clearing amongst some trees. It wasn't much of a lot, really, there were three curbs that designated three small parking spaces. I pulled the car into one and stopped, holding my breath as I turned the car off. Looking into the rearview mirror again I saw Sora was watching me this time, and after a couple seconds he nodded slightly.

"Okay, we'll have to walk out to the beach, but we're here," I said.

We all got out and I led the way down a trail I knew well. I gulped as I felt my eyes sting a little at a distant memory, but I shook my head and concentrated on getting to the beach. Sora caught up to me and put his arm around my shoulders, smiling. I smiled back, and before I knew it the ground beneath my feet turned from dirt and grass to sand.

"Holy shit!" Demyx shouted. He looked awestruck as he took in his surroundings. "It's like some private paradise!"

I chuckled. He was right, though. The place looked like it should be on a postcard from some distant island resort. That was why I loved it, though. And why it had been my mom's favorite place.

"I hope it's alright," I said.

Axel wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Alright? It's fantastic! But why the seclusion? Did you wanna go skinny dipping, Roxy?" The last sentence he whispered into my ear.

I rolled my eyes and elbowed him, which got the point across and he dropped his arms. We sat down and ate our sandwiches, and before long Sora and Demyx were racing each other to the water. I laughed, watching them play and wrestle each other in the water. It'd been so long since we'd both been here, and suddenly I was feeling an odd sensation. I thought it might be homesickness, but I'd never felt that before so I wasn't sure. I drew my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

"You okay?"

I jumped slightly, remembering that I wasn't alone this time, and looked over to my left where Axel was watching me with a worried expression.

"Yeah," I sighed. "This was my mom's favorite spot. It's been a couple years since I've been here, but even longer since Sora has."

"Oh… Then is your mom… uh, is she…"

"She left us when we were six," I finished for him. "I have no idea where she is, or whether she's still alive or not. We haven't heard a word from her."

Axel ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Shit, sorry, Rox, I shouldn't have asked…"

"No, it's fine. The last time we were all together – me, Sora, her, and dad – we had come here to go swimming. Sora loves the water, he would probably live in it if he could. I never really did. It makes me nervous, because I'm not a very strong swimmer, but I love the beach. After that visit, though, we went home. We didn't get back until late, and Sora and I had passed out in the car. When I woke up in the morning, she was gone. No note or anything. As far as we could tell, she had only packed one suitcase. She didn't even take the car." I fell silent, not knowing whether I should continue or not. I didn't even know why I was telling Axel, but it felt natural. Like talking to Sora or Demyx. I felt him cautiously place a comforting hand on my shoulder, obviously not sure if I would brush it off or not, but I just leaned into his side.

"I came back here a lot after that, hoping I might see her. I was young, but my dad had taken things pretty badly. I don't wanna say he became a bad parent, but he wasn't a very responsible one. I took the train up here every chance I could for almost three years, then I just stopped. I finally realized I was never going to see her again. The next time I came up was my sixteenth birthday. My dad had bought me my car, and I wanted to take it somewhere. I don't know why, but this was the first place that came to mind. Sora refused to come with, so he stayed home to have a party while I picked up a bottle of Jack and drove up here. That was the first time I'd ever had hard alcohol." I chuckled humorlessly and I felt Axel's arm tighten around me slightly. I leaned my head over onto his shoulder as I watched Sora chase Demyx through the water.

"I was angry that night. And drunker than I'd ever been before. I screamed and cursed at the ocean, throwing rocks and seashells and trash… anything I could get my hands on. I was angry my mom would just abandon us like she did. I was angry she never sent us a letter, or anything to indicate she might still care. I was angry that I didn't know if she was even alive, and I was angry that it still hurt to think she might not be." I choked back a sob but I couldn't stop now that I had gotten started. "It just wasn't _fair_. It had been ten years since she left, and I didn't understand why I still cared about her. It was my sixteenth birthday, and she hadn't done a single _fucking _thing to acknowledge it. Not that she had for any previous birthday, but for some reason this one had just upset me too much. Finally, _finally_, after ten years, I stopped caring. I stopped hoping I might see her, I stopped hoping she might call us, or write to us. I stopped hoping that she would come home, and hug us, and tell us how much she missed us.

I woke up the next morning on the beach. I had passed out at some point during the night, an empty bottle of Jack clutched in my hand. That wasn't the first time I'd had a hangover, but that been the worst one. I got back into my car and drove home. I didn't tell Sora what had happened for almost a month, but one night he just couldn't take it anymore and we fought for hours until I finally told him." I lifted my head up and looked at Axel, a little surprised at the expression he had. He looked absolutely _devastated_, and I felt a little embarrassed about telling him all that. I smiled weakly, and was about to apologize, when he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, flattening me against his chest as both of his arms wrapped around me.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

He sounded shocked and angry, but the thing that surprised me the most was how genuine he sounded. He said he was sorry that that had happened to me, and he really meant it. I softened into his hug a little, enjoying the comfort I felt there that I had previously only been able to find with my brother.

I slowly pulled out of his hug, though remained leaning against his shoulder. He seemed reluctant to let go of me anyway. I took a moment to calm myself down, then I looked up at him. "You're the only person I've told all that to, you know. Besides Sora."

His intense green eyes turned to me, surprised, as they bore into my own eyes. "Why?" He asked.

I didn't look away as I said, "I wanted to."

His eyes narrowed slightly and he looked a little confused, but before he could say anything else I heard approaching footsteps and I turned to see Sora and Demyx walking back up to us. I hastily stood up, grabbing the crumpled up sandwich wrappers and other garbage.

"Ready to go?" I asked them.

"Yeah," Demyx answered breathlessly. "This is a great spot!"

I smiled and we all headed back to the car. Demyx and Sora both fell asleep on the ride back to the mall. Axel looked deep in thought. I pulled into the parking lot an hour later next to Axel's red pickup, Demyx and Sora both waking up as I stopped. We all got out to say goodbye and my stomach twisted up again as Axel smiled warmly at me.

"We're having a New Year's Eve party, you guys should come."

"Yes!" Demyx agreed eagerly. "You have to come! It's gonna be fun!"

I laughed and nodded. "I'll be there."

"Me too," Sora promised.

I watched them leave from my rearview mirror, then drove out of the parking lot myself. Sora and I sat in silence for a little while, but I knew that wouldn't last long. I could tell he was dying to ask me something.

"Thanks for going," I finally said, breaking the silence.

Sora sighed. "It was about time, I guess. I know you've been there quite a lot since… since that day, but I couldn't bring myself to go." He turned to me with a smile. "I'm glad I did though, that was fun! Your friend Demyx is really cool."

"Yeah he is. His party will be a blast."

"… Axel doesn't seem too bad either," he said.

"…"

"I saw him hugging you…"

"I…" I opened my mouth to explain, but my throat had gone incredibly dry. "… I told him."

Sora studied me. "Told him what?" He asked carefully.

"About mom, and my sixteenth birthday."

Sora opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again and closed it again. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he looked down like he was trying to think of the right thing to say. Finally he looked back up at me with a grin. "I'm proud of you, Roxy."

"It was about time, I guess," I said, mimicking my brother's words with a smile.

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><p><strong>I really hated writing this chapter. I got writer's block part-way through (you might be able to tell) and then school started and sucked up all my free time...<strong>

**well, I got it out, which is what matters, and even threw in some of Roxy's back story :)**

**Till next time my lovelies ;D**


	4. Chapter 4

**I really don't have an excuse for why this is so late, other than I hit a personal low point and just lost all interest in writing. I love this story and idea too much to let it go, though, so I'm going to do my best to work on it more often.**

**Thanks for your continued interest and your lovely reviews, they inspire me to keep writing.**

* * *

><p>I could hear my cell phone vibrating on my nightstand, but I ignored it and tried to go back to sleep. I didn't get much of a chance, though, as suddenly my door was thrown open and someone bounded in. They jumped on my bed and started to shake me awake.<p>

"Roxyyyy! Time to get up! We gotta get ready for the party!"

I groaned and pulled my blanket over my head. "Gimme another hour, Sora."

"It's one o'clock! Come on, Rox, join the living already."

"I don't like the living much, I'd rather be asleep."

Sora hit my shoulder. "Just get up, I don't wanna be late."

I threw my blankets off and sat up, glaring at Sora. "We're not gonna be late. Shit, I'm getting up, okay?"

Sora cheered and left the room so I could get dressed. I laid back down and reached for my phone to see who had texted me. There were five new messages.

The first was from Demyx: _Hey! Just thought I'd let ya know the party will be around 8 or so, but you can come chill whenever you want_

The second was from Sora: _Bro, you up? Damn I'm booooored_

The third was from Hayner: _Wat u doin 2nite? PARTY?_

The fourth was from Demyx again: _Dude… Axel is bugging the shit out of me wondering when you'll be here. Think you could come a little early?_

And the last one was from Sora: _COMING TO WAKE YOUR LAZY ASS UP_

I rolled my eyes and sent a quick message back to Dem, saying I was just waking up and we'd be over as soon as I'd gotten ready. I then sent a message to Hayner letting him know I'd gotten invited to a party at Radiant Garden, so I wouldn't be able to come over. I didn't feel the need to invite him along. I tossed my phone back onto the nightstand and got up to get dressed. I looked through my closet, wondering what I was going to wear. Normally I would just grab something and put it on, not really caring how it looked because I just owned jeans and t-shirts so everything pretty much matched anyway. But this time something was different. I felt like I needed to impress someone. Well, not just anyone. I wanted to impress Axel.

I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans, my favorite ones because they made my ass look fantastic, and pulled them on. They were the same ones I'd bought when I was at the mall the first time with Axel, but he probably wouldn't notice that. I slipped my favorite checkered belt through my belt loops just as I heard my phone going off again. I pulled on some socks and walked over to my nightstand to check my phone. I had another text from Demyx.

_Thanks! Axel is driving me nuts._

I smiled and shook my head. _Getting dressed now. We'll leave in about 20 mins_

I walked back to my closet and grabbed a white shirt that had the name and logo of my favorite band, then threw on my favorite checkered jacket to match my belt. Just as I was slipping on my Vans, Sora hammered on my door.

"Roxas you better be awake!"

I heard him press himself up against the door, probably listening for sounds I might make. I tiptoed over to the door, then opened it quickly enough that Sora stumbled forward a step.

He saw that I was dressed and smiled. "Great! So when are we leaving?"

"Nowish."

"Now? Isn't it early?"

"Axel's annoying Dem, so he wants us to come over to distract him and hang out before the party."

"Oh… well okay! We're not doing anything anyway! Let me just grab my stuff."

"Yeah, I'll be ready to go here soon." I walked into the bathroom and ran a comb through my hair to get rid of the tangles, then brushed my teeth. When I was stepping out of the bathroom Sora was skipping down the stairs with a backpack.

"I grabbed a new set of clothes for you too," he said, holding up the backpack.

I smiled at him. "Awesome, thanks. You ready?"

"Yeah!"

We walked out the door and headed to the car. Sora seemed really excited, which was saying something since he rarely enjoyed parties of this nature. He liked going to parties and hanging out with his friends, but he didn't drink too much and didn't like being around drunk people. He had been a little nervous about the party at first, but after I told him how much of a lightweight Demyx was Sora relented and started to get excited about it.

I pulled up in front of their house a while later and Sora grabbed the backpack of clothes while I grabbed another couple bags I'd brought. The two of us walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later Demyx threw open the door with a smile.

"Yay! I was wondering when you might show up! Come on, I'll show you where you guys can stay. You don't mind sharing a room, do you?"

We both smiled and shook our heads at the same time. "We shared a room for years, we're used to it," I told him.

"Yeah I don't mind," Sora agreed.

We dropped off the backpack in the room that Demyx showed us to, and I unzipped my jacket and tossed it on the bed.

"Dem I brought some alcohol, where should I put it?" I asked him.

"You can put it in the basement with the rest for now. Axel's down there setting up some tables, can you see if he needs some help while you're down there?"

I smiled. "No problem." I left the room and headed quickly down the stairs. My heart quickened a little as I began descended the stairs down to the basement. When I was about halfway down I paused, watching Axel as he set up a table. He was standing with his back to me so I took a moment to admire how he looked: he was wearing a black wife-beater, and _damn_ did he look good in it. His hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, something I hadn't previously thought about him doing, but I decided I really liked how it looked.

"Dem wanna give me a hand instead of just standing there?" He asked, not turning around.

"Not Dem," I answered. I grinned as he jumped a little, dropping the table but picking it up quickly as if it hadn't happened.

He turned to give me a nod. "Oh, hey Rox. I didn't know you guys were coming early."

I smirked as I walked up to him. "Oh really?" I glanced up at him and it looked as if he had a trace of a fading blush on his cheeks.

He looked up from the table to look at me, and he took in my outfit. I saw him swallow visibly before he looked back down at the table to continue pulling the legs out. "Well uh, Dem mentioned you might, but I thought maybe a _little_ early, not a few hours early."

It looked like he was having a little difficulty pulling one of the legs out, so I grabbed a hold of the table to hold it while he pulled out the leg.

He smiled at me. "Thanks."

"Yep. So Dem said I could sit this down here somewhere…?" I said, holding up the bags I had.

He looked at them curiously. "What's in there?"

I grinned. "Jäger and Red Bull."

His eyes widened just a little bit in excitement. "Is that for…"

"Jäger bombs, baby! One of my favorite ways to get drunk fast!"

Axel laughed. "I see." He showed me where to put my drinks and then we set up the rest of the tables. When we were done with that we went back upstairs; I took care to walk in front of him so he would have to watch my ass as we went. As we got to the door I almost ran into Demyx who was about to come through.

"Oh!" He said, surprised. "Sora and I were just about to come help you."

I stepped up the last step, but left _just _enough room so that if Axel stepped up too, which he did, he would be just a couple inches behind me. He was so close I could feel his body heat and hear his breathing. I casually leaned up against him. "We finished," I told Dem.

Axel slipped his arm around my chest. "Roxas was kind enough to bring us Jäger, Dem."

I looked up to see that Axel was positively beaming. Apparently Jäger held some good memories for the redhead. I grinned as I turned to look at Demyx, who had a worried look on his face.

"… Jäger?" Demyx questioned.

"Yep," Axel answered him.

"And did he bring -"

"Red Bull."

"For -"

"Jäger bombs!"

I listened to their exchange, feeling like I was missing some key information. Demyx still looked worried, and now he also looked amused. Sora, standing at Demyx's right, looked just as confused as I felt.

I pulled away from Axel's grasp, feeling him tighten for a second, as if he didn't want to let go, then he dropped his arm. "What's the big deal about Jäger bombs, guys?" I asked, looking from one to the other.

Demyx shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Axel gets a little… hard to be around when he drink Jäger."

I was still confused, so I looked to Axel for an explanation. He just smiled at me. "You'll see," he said with a wink.

The next few hours we spent snacking, cleaning, and getting the rest of the house set up for the party. We pushed all the furniture in the living room up against the walls, set out all of our alcohol on the kitchen counter, had cups and shot glasses out for people to use, made sure there was plenty of snacks and food, and then we had a moment to relax. Immediately Axel suggested we take a celebratory drink: a Jäger bomb, to be precise.

"I'm down," I said.

Demyx rolled his eyes before nodding. "Yeah I'll do one too."

Sora agreed as well so we all poured ourselves each a shot of Jäger and a cup of Red Bull. We toasted to "a fun party", then as one we dropped our shots into our Red Bull and chugged it down. As soon as I finished I wanted another, and by the grin on Axel's face I could tell he did too. Sora was making weird faces and Dem was shaking his head.

"One down," Axel announced.

It wasn't much later that the guests began arriving, and Axel and I had made a challenge to each other that for every five people to show up, we would do a Jäger bomb. I suggested this, and he agreed enthusiastically. I was curious what the alcohol was supposed to do to him, but after five, six if you count the one we'd done before people had started arriving, I couldn't see much of a difference. He seemed a little more loud and exuberant than before, but I just chalked that up to how he must act when he got buzzed. I know I tend to get much flirtier, which is why I'd ended up kissing Demyx last time.

I only had one person I was interested in tonight, though. The whole night, I never left Axel's side. He did still annoy me from time to time, but it's not like I was looking for anything long term. He was just very attractive, and I wanted to see what he looked like without clothes…

I left the kitchen, after refilling my drink, to rejoin Axel in the living room. He was sitting on the couch and listening to the music, just staring off into space. I sat down next to him and threw my legs across his lap. Without hesitation he draped his arm over my legs and smirked at me, stealing my drink and taking a sip.

"I'm bored," I whined, pushing a strand of red hair behind his ear. His eyes closed at my touch.

"What would you like to do?" He asked.

I stole my cup back and took a drink, earning a sexy glare from the redhead. I knew what I _wanted _to do, alright, but even with the alcohol lowering my inhibitions and making me flirty, I was still too nervous to initiate anything. "I wanna play a game or something. I'm nowhere near being drunk."

"Well… we could try Beer Pong again, or Three Man… King's Cup…"

"Wanna go shot for shot with me?"

He raised his eyebrow. "That's not a game."

"Game, challenge, same thing. I just wanna drink more and have fun."

He smiled and shook his head slightly. "Alright, if you think you're up for it."

"Please, there's no way you're gonna beat me, you've had more to drink."

We asked around to see if anyone else wanted to join, but not many people were interested. Sora and Dem agreed to go as far as they could, though they knew they weren't going to beat me or Axel. The four of us, and two other people I didn't know the names of, grabbed a couple bottles of rum and some shot glasses, and sat at a table. We each filled our shot glass, toasted, then downed it. People around us started cheering, and we did one more. After two more shots, Sora decided he was done. Only one later and Dem was out as well. Two shots later and the other two people quit. It was just me and Axel left, and honestly I felt done. We filled one more shot, clinked the glasses, then took our last shot. He grinned at me after we'd finished, and I smiled back, ignoring the people around us who were cheering and patting us on the back.

He and I stumbled back out to the living room, our arms around each other's waist, then fell onto the couch. We began talking to anyone and everyone around us, probably annoying them all with how obnoxious we were being. My head was dizzy from the alcohol, and when I moved too quickly the world spun, but I was having a good time. I barely noticed Axel running his hand through my hair, or the way he sometimes missed my hair altogether and stroked my neck.

I looked over to Sora in the chair to my right to tell him something, but I saw he was completely passed out. Feeling the need to move him, I got myself up from my comfortable spot next to Axel and pulled Sora's arm over my neck, slipping my arm around his waist to carry him up to our room. I had started to take a step when I felt myself wobble, a little unbalanced, but Axel caught me and supported Sora's other side. Together we took him up to our room, and carefully laid him on the bed. After I closed the door Axel started to head back downstairs, but I grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"You know, I still haven't seen what your room looks like."

He looked back over at me, his eye movement a little delayed but his lips _(God those lips) _were in the form of a smile. "It's right over here," he said with a smirk.

I followed him to his room, where he opened the door for me and gestured for me to go in first. I looked around, but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. A queen size bed with black and red blankets was in one corner; black drapes covered the one window; in the corner across from his bed was his desk, currently littered with papers and school books, his laptop screensaver a small flame that burned endlessly. On the other side of the bed was a nightstand, then three bookcases: one was entirely books, another all DVDs, and the one in the middle was a mix of the two. His closet doors were open, and I peeked inside to see that it was just a little messy, not unlike my own. I noticed boxes on top of boxes of Converse shoes, and wondered what different colors he had.

I was snapped out of my moment when Axel closed the door behind us. I turned to look at him, trying my best to look as seductive as possible, but my smile faltered when I saw the look in his face. The only way I could describe it was predatory. His eyes spoke nothing but lust, and his smoldering look was both sexy and a little scary, which made me shiver slightly with want. That was all it took: I was the frozen rabbit, unable to move under the gaze of the dog who wanted nothing more than to pounce on the poor rabbit, whether for play or otherwise.

My second of weakness may as well have been me throwing up a white flag, and Axel _did _pounce.

I don't remember exactly how we got on the bed, whether he carried me to it or if he had tackled me hard enough that we had flown across the room and fallen on it, but I remember being on the bed as Axel's lips devoured my own in a kiss more passionate than anything I'd ever felt before. I gasped when I felt his hand on my stomach, and he took the opportunity to thrust his tongue in my mouth. Within seconds both of our shirts had been torn off, Axel's literally so. I so badly didn't want to interrupt our kiss that I had ripped it down the front and then thrown it off to the side. I thought I felt him smirk into the kiss, but he didn't raise any complaints.

When I felt him start to pull on the button of my jeans I realized just how alone we were. I pulled away from the kiss to catch my breath, but Axel didn't pause and started to kiss down my neck and collarbone. I wanted this, I knew that, and I wasn't drunk enough that I was unaware of my actions, but I needed to make sure Axel was still in his right mind.

"A-Axel," I started, noticing how husky my voice had gone.

He groaned at the sound of his name, and instead of undoing my pants he cupped my groin as he started nipping and sucking my neck. I moaned and arched my back, trying to push myself as close to him as possible. His thumb traced the length of my incredibly hard cock and I felt him shiver slightly.

"Axel," I repeated, my voice much clearer this time. "I need to know how drunk you are so I know I'm not taking advantage of you."

He paused his ministrations on my neck to claim my lips once more, but only in a quick kiss. He looked me in the eyes as his hand stroked my chest and started to play with a nipple. "Rox, I wouldn't refuse you whether I was blacked-out or completely sober." His hand on my cock squeezed lightly and I felt my eyes roll up as I moaned and arched my back again. "I probably should have checked that you were aware of what you were doing, but I guess I'm drunk enough that I didn't really think about that…"

I opened my eyes and saw that he looked a little disappointed with himself, but I couldn't think of any comforting words. My brain did not have enough blood flowing to it at the moment. So I did the only thing I could think of doing: I reached my hand up and grabbed Axel's crotch.

"Too much talking," I said, as Axel gasped and pushed himself harder into my hand. I reached my other hand up to grab the back of his neck and I pulled him down for another kiss. We stayed like that for a little while, rubbing each other and kissing, until the need for better friction arose. His hands went back to my button, and as I felt him undoing it I did the same to his. We slid out of our jeans, kicking them away, and without hesitation I pulled my boxers off as well. Axel quickly followed suit, and I pulled him back to me to continue our kiss.

His hand went back to my cock at once, gripping it and pumping in a slow motion. I couldn't help moaning again. "Nnnnn, Axel…" My hand threaded its way into his hair where it gripped tightly. I looked up at him from underneath half-lidded eyes, pleased with the hungry way he was watching me. I whispered his name again, just to see the effect. "Axel…"

I wasn't disappointed. He closed his eyes and moaned again at the sound of his name, and he leaned closer to busy himself with my neck again. He was being a little too soft for my taste, though, so I decided to let him know.

"Harder, Axel," I whined, baring my neck so he would have better access. He bit down hard and I felt my hips buck into his hand. "Ah! Yeah, like that… ooh, you feel so good, Axel." I moaned again as he licked at the spot he'd just bitten.

"Goddamn, Rox, you're gonna make me come if you keep saying my name like that," he chuckled. I felt his pace on my cock quicken slightly.

"I wanna make you come, Axel," I purred. "I wanna make you come so hard you forget your name."

He groaned and squeezed me a little, quickening his pace even more.

"Fuck, Axel that feels so good," I moaned. At this point I was just saying his name more for my amusement than anything else, but the things I said weren't lies. This felt fucking incredible. I arched my back again, bucking my hips into his hand. I felt that familiar coiling sensation in my stomach and knew I was close.

"Shit, Axel, I'm so fucking close. You're gonna make me come so hard."

He ran his thumb over my tip, spreading the precum that had pooled there around my cock to use as lubrication, then sped up his pace again. I felt my hand clutch at his bedspread, while my other was still entwined in his hair. His arm slipped underneath me and grasped my hand, lacing his fingers between mine and clutching tightly. I opened my eyes and did my best to keep them open as I looked up into Axel's bright green eyes. He tilted his head slightly so his cheek lay against my arm, and my eyes rolled back again as I felt that coiling feeling snap. I moaned Axel's name repeatedly as I came, both of my hands gripping tighter. I felt liquid on the side of my leg as he came too, and he continued to pump me until I'd completely softened.

I laid there for a few minutes with my eyes closed, trying to get my breathing back to normal. Finally I was able to open my eyes again and I looked over at Axel. He was watching me again, and looked extremely pleased with himself.

I smiled blissfully and chuckled. "Fucking hell."

"Something wrong?"

"Are you kidding? That was the hardest I've ever come in my _life_, and we didn't even fucking _do _anything."

He cuddled up closer to me, his arm around my waist, and nuzzled into my neck. "And I don't think I've ever come without being touched, but damn, Rox, just the sounds you make and the way you kept saying my name made me come. You're fucking amazing. We gotta do that again."

I smiled, but I could feel myself starting to drift off. As much as I wanted another go, I was spent. I wanted to tell him to ask me later when I woke up in the morning, but the only word I got out was, "Later," and I fell asleep with Axel still holding me.

When I woke up the next morning I felt disoriented, and spent a moment trying to figure out where I was and why there was someone in bed with me. Then memories of last night came floating back, and I grinned. _That's right, I'm in Axel's bed, cuddling Axel, after I passed out because I was drunk and extremely relaxed after climaxing._ I opened my eyes back up to find a mess of red hair in my face, whose body I was currently holding. Axel had his back to me, and as far as I could tell he was still sleeping. I squirmed closer to him carefully, not wanting to move too much and wake him up, and pressed myself up against him. I hugged him tightly, unable to hold back another grin; I was very pleased with myself for being in bed with such a gorgeous specimen.

I felt, rather than heard, him chuckle, his body shaking lightly. I loosened my grip as he turned to face me. He wrapped his arm around me too and opened his eyes as he smirked at me.

"Good morning."

"_Good_ morning," I agreed.

He grinned. "Happy New Year."

"… Happy New Year," I said reluctantly.

He looked at me curiously. "How much of last night do you remember?"

"Do you think I'd be cuddling you if I didn't remember what we did?"

He chuckled again. "Hey, whether you remember or not, I'm not going to complain about waking up in your arms."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you always so cheesy?"

"Only when I'm in a really good mood."

"I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

He smiled and ran a hand through my hair. "Are you hungover or anything?"

"No, I actually feel pretty good."

He snickered. "I bet you do. I tend to have that effect."

"Ugh, seriously, I'm gonna have to get some eggs to make an omelet with all your _cheese._"

"Well, Roxy, that was a pretty _cheesy _comeback."

I groaned and tried to take my arm back to hit him, but he pinned my arm against his side as he rolled us over so he was on top of me. Right away he started kissing me, and my attempts to hit him were completely forgotten. I became aware that we were still naked as I felt myself getting hard already. It was a little more embarrassing this time than it was last night, probably thanks to the lack of alcohol. But Axel didn't seem to mind, judging by the way he was slowly grinding against me.

I grinned into our kiss and rolled us over so I was on top, then I slowly started kissing down his neck to his chest. His breathing hitched as I made my way to his stomach, still slowly going lower and lower.

"R-Roxas, what're you d-doing?"

"I owe you for last night."

"You don't owe me for anything."

"You got me off last night and I couldn't even do anything to you – I mean, _for _you," I corrected myself after I felt him shudder at my words.

"I got off too…"

I placed kisses and nips across his waist, starting at one bony hip and ending at the other, keeping just above his red curls. "Yeah, but I didn't do anything. You got off by just listening to me _moan_…and _whine_…" His grip tightened on my shoulder. "Oh, and you liked how I said '_Axeell_'," I moaned dramatically. I could feel him getting hard underneath me and I smirked, leaning down to kiss his thigh. He twitched when I made contact, and I nipped his leg before lightly pushing on his legs to get him to spread them. He obeyed immediately, placing his legs on either side of me comfortably.

I figured that must be his way of telling me to continue, because he wasn't raising anymore objections. I quickly licked up his cock, from the base to the tip, and I heard him gasp. His hands moved from my shoulders to my hair as I took him in my mouth. He was pretty big, so I knew I wouldn't be able to deep-throat him, but I pushed him in as far as I could. Good thing I had little to no gag reflex. I felt him hit my throat and heard him groan. It sounded like he was in pain, but I knew from experience that this was far from painful. I swirled my tongue around his cock the best I could. He bucked a little, but I held onto his hips to keep him from doing too much harm. I moved my head up slowly, then when I was at the tip I licked his slit, tasting the precum that was there.

I didn't know whether or not he liked teeth, most guys I know from past experiences don't, but he seemed like the type who might, so I gave it a shot. As I descended, I very lightly grazed him with the top of my teeth. It was only for a second, but the reaction was immense.

"_Holy fuuuuuck," _he moaned. His hands gripped my hair painfully as he panted, and I couldn't help but chuckle a little. The vibrations created more pleasure, and I felt his hips try to buck again but I still had a hold on them. He whined a little, and I quickly pushed him back to my throat again.

I continued in this manner for a little while, sucking on him and bobbing my head. I loved hearing him moan like he did, and I knew how he must have felt to get off by just listening to me. Not too much later I felt him start to throb in my mouth, and he breathing was incredibly uneven. Knowing he must be close, I let go of his hips to reach up for his nipples to play with. Naturally, as I dropped his hips he immediately tried to buck, but I let him and I pinched and toyed with his nipples while he held my head in placed and fucked my mouth until he came. He tried to pull out but I gave his cock a quick lick and he stopped moving. His come pooled up in my mouth, and when I felt him finish I swallowed and licked his softening member to get any I'd missed.

He had gone completely limp, and as I looked up at him his eyes were closing as he tried to even his breathing. I softly kissed back up his stomach, his chest, his neck, then placed a light kiss on his cheek. I cuddled to his side, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"You taste different."

His eyes flew open and he turned his head to look at me. "What do you mean, 'different'?"

I ran my fingers along his chest lightly. "Hmm, I don't know how to explain it. Like… you would expect salty, right? And you were, but you were also kinda… sweet, I guess."

He sighed and I looked up at him in time to see him in mid eye-roll. "Lovely, you give me the best head of my life and tell me I taste weird. Fucking perfect."

"Best head of your life, huh?"

He blushed lightly, still not looking at me. "Did I say that? Must've been a heat of the moment thing, I'm sure you weren't that good."

I leaned up and swatted his shoulder playfully. "Heat of the moment… fuck you! I will do it again and _prove _it's the best goddamn blowjob you've ever gotten."

He smirked and finally looked back at me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me on to his lap. "Rox, as amazing as that sounds, I don't think I could take another one."

I pouted from my position on his lap. "But Axel, I don't think I can stop. I think I might be addicted to you, I've never tasted anything like you."

"That good, am I? Salty and sweet like your yogurt you love so much?"

I frowned, pretending to give it serious thought, and slowly shook my head. "No, not quite _that_ good, but a veryclose second."

He laughed and rolled us over so he could pin me under him, holding my hands above my head and giving me a quick kiss. "So what are your plans for today, Blondie?"

"Well, as much as you would like me to, I can't stay in bed with you for much longer."

"Why not? There's so much more we could do~"

"Yes, and as _wonderful _as that sounds," I said, sarcastically emphasizing "wonderful," "I have to go move into my new house."

"You're moving in today?"

"Yep, and Sora's helping me."

"You want me to help?"

"I think we can handle it, I don't have much stuff and it's all in a moving van."

"Let me rephrase my question: Can I come and pretend to help just so I can spend the day with you?"

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Gaah, so fucking cheesy." But I leaned up to kiss him.

"Is that a yes…?"

"Yes, fine." He leaned down quickly and gave me a kiss, but not just a quick peck. I hadn't been prepared for it and after only several seconds I was panting for air. He pulled back, grinning, and stood up to get dressed. "I suppose my new room will need christening."

"Aw, just your room?" He teased, tossing my clothes to me.

"Hm, good point. There's also the other five rooms, plus the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, the basement, and the bathrooms."

He looked at me with his eyebrows raised, frozen in mid action of putting his shirt on. "That's a lot of christening…"

I shrugged as I pulled on my boxers. "We have all night if moving takes all day." I walked over to him, the rest of my clothes tucked under my arm, and slapped his ass. "I'm sure you're up for it~" I said before slipping out of the room to put on fresh clothes.


End file.
